A Sinner's Fate
by nebula2
Summary: Spencer Reid struggles for his life as he clings to the hope of his team finding him, while his team rush to rescue him from the hands of Tobias Hankle. An alternate ending to the episode of "Revelations".


**AN: So while watching "Revelations" this sort of 'what if' scenario came to mind. Thanks to the encouragement of one Graveygraves, I ended up writing it out. I hope you enjoy this alternate take on the ending of the episode! Thanks to klcm for looking this over for me and providing a title.**

_**Disclaimer: Criminal minds and its characters are not mine. Also, some dialogue is used from the episode of "Revelations" so again I do not claim credit for that.**_

* * *

The cemetery was quiet, few night sounds drifting through the air. The stillness only made the sound of the shovel blade cutting through dirt sound very loud. Time after time, Reid slowly scooped up some of the moist Georgia dirt and tossed it aside, the shovel getting heavier with each movement. He knew what this hole was for. Knew what fate Tobias' father had in store for him and that knowledge sent a chill through him that was even greater than the one caused by the damp night air.

"Dig faster," came the gruff voice of Charles Hankel.

Reid looked up at him, leaning heavily on the shovel stuck in the ground. "I'm not strong enough," he told his captor. The words weren't a complete lie, but Reid was also stalling for time. He knew Hotch would get the clue he had sent to the older profiler and the team would figure out where he was being held, they just needed time. Unfortunately, Reid was well aware that his time was quickly running out.

Tobias grumbled as he kicked at the blanket that had been brought to the grave site. "You're weak," he added, glaring down at Reid.

Looking beyond Tobias, Dr. Spencer Reid looked for any sign of his team. Any sign of hope. The cemetery remained dark though, no sign of any life other than him and Tobias. He felt the last rays of hope slipping away.

"Get out of there," Tobias, in the persona of his father, grumbled upon hearing Reid say he was too weak to dig the grave.

Reaching down, Tobias roughly dragged Reid out of the shallow hole that had already been dug. Reid stumbled slightly as he was still weak from the couple of days held captive. His eyes landed on the revolver with the lone bullet in it. If he could get a hold of it, perhaps he would have a chance of escape. He still held the shovel in his hand. Though he doubted he had enough strength in him to do any real damage to Tobias if he hit him with the shovel he might be able to stun his captor enough to be able get a hold of the gun. Gripping the shovel, Reid started to raise the tool.

"Don't even think about it," Charles Tobias yelled, dropping the knife he held and grabbing the handle of the shovel.

It took little effort for Tobias to wrest control of the shovel from Reid. Frustrated at the resistance that the sinner he had captive was putting up, Tobias swung the shovel in Reid's direction. Seeing the movement, Reid instinctively put his hand up to ward off the blow. Though the movement deflected some of the force of the blow, the blade of the shovel still connected with Reid's left forehead, knocking the genius to the ground with a groan of pain.

Reid slowly lifted his hand to his temple even as he fought to keep his eyes open. He felt the roughness of the dried blood from the original blow with the gun now mixing with fresh blood. Grimacing with the pain, he pushed the palm of his hand against the wound. Soon he heard the sound of the metal blade cutting through dirt again, the sound seeming even louder now as it echoed in his mind.

As each shovelful of dirt made the hole bigger, Reid knew his time got shorter. Despite the pain of the movement, he forced his eyes open and shifted his head to get his bearings. Soon, though there seemed to be two of him, Reid's eyes soon found Tobias. His captor was quickly digging the hole that he intended to be Reid's grave.

Letting his hand drop from his temple, Reid tried to push himself up off the ground. He didn't get too far as the movement only increased the pain in his head, and caused his stomach to feel like it was going to rebel too. Collapsing back on the ground, Reid gave up hope of affecting his own escape. His fate was out of his hands now. Either his team found him or Tobias was going to bury him alive. Tobias was right; he was weak.

Drifting in and out of consciousness, Reid lay on the cold Georgia ground as his time on earth slipped away. He shivered, both from the cold and from the thought of the death he was about to face. His thoughts drifted to his mother. Who would look after her once he was gone? Would one of his team members do it or would she be left to the mercy of the state? Reid regretted not asking one of his team members to look after her if something should happen to him. He was sure any of them would have, if only he had asked.

"It's deep enough to bury a sinner like you."

Reid forced his eyes open at the sound of Charles Tobias' voice. His captor, whose face kept going from one to two and back to one, stood above him.

"Please don't do this," Reid begged, not caring how pathetic he sounded.

Tobias' voice shifted, changing to the cool, emotionless voice of Raphael. "The punishment that God decreed must be carried out. For your sins you will be put death."

Turning, Tobias picked up the blanket he had kicked earlier and began to lay it out on the ground next to the grave.

"Morgan," Reid called out, willing his friend who had always been there to protect him before to come now. He wasn't even sure how loud the cry was or if the older agent was anywhere nearby.

"No one is going to save you," Tobias said, the Charles' persona having taken back over.

Reaching down, Tobias dragged Reid over to where the blanket was. Placing the young FBI agent on the blanket, his body parallel to the grave, he began to roll Reid toward the grave, the blanket wrapping around Reid's body in the process. Then with a final push, Reid felt himself falling into the shallow grave. Reid's scream filled his own ears as he landed hard on his left arm before settling face first at the bottom of the hole, the dirt filling his mouth cutting off the sound. Coughing, the genius tried to empty his mouth of the soil even as he felt the dirt start to fall down on him.

"Please hurry," he whispered, refusing to believe that his team wouldn't rescue him.

* * *

Morgan searched the darkness of the family cemetery of the plantation for any sign of his co-worker. He knew they had to be close. The scene in the cabin had told them they hadn't missed Tobias by that much time. The problem was guessing which direction Tobias had taken Reid.

Just then a scream cut through the night air. Reid! Morgan would recognize the scream anytime and now he knew that sound was going to haunt his dreams for a long time to come. He glanced only briefly over at Hotch, before rushing in the direction of the sound. That one glance had told him that Hotch had recognized the yell himself and that he was right with Morgan. The quiet, hurried footsteps behind him told him that the rest of the group was staying with them.

"There he is," Hotch said beside him, even as Morgan saw the form of Tobias shoveling dirt into a hole. As Reid was nowhere in sight, Morgan knew what Tobias was trying to bury.

"FBI! Put your hands up," Morgan called out, his gun trained on the suspect even as the continued to move forward.

At the sound of Morgan's voice, Tobias paused, briefly glancing at Morgan before diving to the ground. Moments later Tobias was raising the revolver in their direction. It was the only invitation that Morgan needed after seeing what this guy had already done to Reid. Without a moment of hesitation, Morgan squeezed the trigger of his gun, his shot hitting Tobias squarely in the chest. As the suspect fell to the ground, Morgan and the rest of the agents broke into a run. Morgan was the first to reach Tobias, instantly kicking the gun away from the motionless hand as he looked down at Tobias.

"Do you think I'll get to see my mom again?" Tobias asked, the voice coming across as frightened and scared. It wasn't the same voice they had been hearing over the internet broadcasts.

Morgan felt a slight pang of guilt as the young man before him took his last breath. "He's gone," he told those around him, lowering his gun.

"We need paramedics!" Hotch shouted, drawing Morgan's attention away from the still form of Tobias.

Morgan could just barely see the top of Hotch's head as the Unit Chief knelt in the shallow hole that Tobias had been filling in. Putting his gun in its holster, Morgan walked toward the edge of the hole. Reid was laying face down at the bottom of the shallow grave, dirt covering his entire body except for his neck and head.

"I knew you would understand," Reid remarked as Hotch leaned down close to the younger agent.

The words just barely reached Morgan's ears, but he felt a wave of relief at the soft sound of his friend's voice. Reid was still alive.

"You're going to be okay," Hotch told him reassuringly. "We're going to get you out of here and to a hospital."

As Hotch spoke, Morgan picked up the shovel that Tobias had discarded. Carefully climbing into the hole, Morgan began to shovel the dirt back out of the hole.

"JJ? Is she okay? I heard her scream."

"She's fine, Reid," Morgan heard Hotch assure Reid.

Tossing another shovelful of dirt up out of the hole, Morgan saw JJ, Prentiss, and Gideon all standing on the edge. The looks on their faces mirrored the worry he felt himself.

"Reid, don't close your eyes," Hotch said, causing Morgan to shift his gaze.

"I'm so tired," the genius murmured.

"I need you to stay with me, Reid."

Morgan went back to his task with a bit more urgency though still being cautious. He didn't want to cause any more injuries. When most of the dirt was out of the hole, Morgan began using his hands to push the rest of the dirt off the blanket that was wrapped around Reid, listening to the conversation that Hotch was engaging Reid in.

Above him, he heard Gideon start to speak. As the older agent began to relate the injuries they had witnessed via the internet feed, Morgan glanced up to see the paramedics had arrived. As much as he wanted to believe this nightmare was over with their arrival, the Chicago native knew that wasn't the case. Their teammate, his friend, had been through hell the last couple of days. A hell that Morgan was sure they only knew the tip of. The extent of Reid's injuries was unknown. The emotional issues that the whole ordeal would lead to would come out as the recovery process began. Morgan knew the younger agent was going to need a lot of support, and getting him to except that help was going to be the hardest battle, Reid's independent nature forming a barrier against that support.

As he watched the medics climb carefully down into the small trench though, Morgan knew that they were going to have to try.

"We're here for you, Pretty Boy," Morgan said softly, standing there watching, waiting to find out how he could help the medics. "You're not alone anymore."

Morgan's gaze fell on Hotch once again. The unit chief was kneeling on the edge of the hole now, having retreated there to give the medics room. Hotch looked in his direction, and as their eyes met, Morgan read the same determination there that he felt. No matter what, getting Reid through this day by day was on the top of both their agendas.


End file.
